We’ll check on the fitness of midfielder Luke McCormick ahead of tomorrow’s League One clash at Wigan Athletic.
“Luke is all right,” said Player/Coach Darius Charles after training on Thursday. “He took a knock on his Achilles on Tuesday. He had moderated training and hopefully he should be fit for the weekend. Cheye Alexander has been struck down with a bug, so it looks like he might not be available for selection, but by Friday he might be fit again and able to put himself back in the running.”
There was better news concerning defender Henry Lawrence (hamstring) and midfielder Anthony Hartigan (shoulder), who both took part in full training and could be back soon to help the Dons during a very busy March.
“When Ant done his shoulder, it looked bad,” said Darius. “To be fair to him he’s worked tirelessly. The fact he’s back in full training after only a couple of weeks is a credit to him and the hard work and endeavour he’s put in. It’s brilliant to see Henry back, we’ve missed him. He’s a great character, he’s a good lad, and it was enjoyable to see him out there working to create opportunities and score goals.”
You can see highlights of Thursday’s training session below, via the link to our official YouTube channel.
Defender Ben Heneghan (ankle) isn’t expected to be ruled out for long, but strikers Aaron Cosgrave (ankle) and Aaron Pressley (hamstring) have more serious injuries. Winger Egli Kaja (calf) is making progress outdoors, working with our Head of Sports Science Chris McConnell.
“The one thing you know with ‘Henners’ is that he’s going to do everything possible to get himself out there,” said Darius. “Unfortunately, this game is just a little too soon, having rolled his ankle in training.
“Aaron Cosgrave’s situation is a little bit more serious. We won’t be expecting him back anytime soon. With regards to Aaron Pressley, we’re looking at a few weeks because of a reoccurrence of the same injury he had previously, It is very common, but unfortunate. Hopefully he’ll be back sooner, but it just depends on how these things settle down.”
Experienced defender Darius is confident that lessons have been learned after our last trip to the North West ended in a disappointing defeat at Bolton. On Saturday we prepare to face a much-changed Wigan side to the one that we beat 3-2 in this fixture just over a year ago.
“These boys are at the beginning of their learning of the game,” said Darius. “When I look at them, I can’t judge as a 34-year-old because I’ve had 16 years of education in the sport. These boys are really at the start of their careers, so it’s finding ways to make them understand how important the seemingly innocuous moments are and how powerful communicating can be in controlling a game, how big momentum can be, and how it can shift quickly.
“We’re essentially teaching boys who are babies in the game, so these things take time and where this club is going will not be determined in a day, or a season - it’s over the course of two, three, five, or 10 years.”
Listen to our extensive interview in full with popular club figure Darius Charles below, via the video link to our official YouTube channel.